Sunday, December 9, 2012

HINDU KANYA PUJA

NEPAL GIRLS IN MASS HINDUKANYA PUJA PRAYER CEREMONY

www.bbc.co.uk -
More than 11,000 girls have taken part in a mass Hindu prayer ceremony
in western Nepal, which organisers say is one of the biggest of its kind
ever to be held in the country. The traditional Kanya Puja ceremony
honours girls as incarnations of the Goddess Bhagawati. It included
girls from different ethnic communities and castes. Organisers say the
aim is to dismantle the caste system and spread a message of equality
and social harmony. Many girls taking part in the ceremony at Ramnagar
in Nawalparasi district wore school uniforms and performed Hindu
devotions and chants.“It is our Vedic
tradition to offer Puja (Hindu devotions) to girls who are regarded as
incarnations of Goddess Bhagawati,” festival organising chief Bharat Raj
Poudel said. He added that the Puja was being done in a manner to bring
about “social revolution” by ensuring a more inclusive society and
discarding discriminatory caste traditions such as “untouchability”.

“We
want to do away with ethnic discord,” Mr Poudel said. Nepal has
recently witnessed ethnic unrest amid heated debate over the composition
of a new constitution. Members of parliament remain divided over the
issue. Some ethnic communities, mostly from indigenous groups called
Janajati, have called for the country's provinces to be demarcated along
on ethnic lines. They have also opposed what they have described as the
domination of high-caste Hindus - such as Brahmins and Chhetris -
within “the body politic”. The Kanya Puja is to be followed by the
two-week-long Mahayagya - another Hindu ritual which is typically
performed by priests using fires to carry out symbolic sacrifices.The
main objective of the Mahayagya, according to organisers, is to
preserve Hindu traditions, philosophy and values of life. Priests from
neighbouring India have been invited to this programme. Formerly a Hindu
kingdom, Nepal was transformed into a secular republic six years ago.

More
than 11,000 girls have taken part in what’s believed to be the biggest
mass Hindu prayer ceremony ever held in Nepal. Hindu Girls from
different Janjatis and Jatis unite to perform mass Kanya Puja prayer
ceremony to dismantle the caste system and spread a message of equality
and social harmony. Ethnic minorities want their rights respected, so
girls from various castes took part in this traditional Kanya Puja
ceremony which honors girls as incarnations of the Goddess Bhagawati.
Organisers say that the aim of the ceremony was to bring about social
revolution by ensuring a more inclusive society in Nepal. Durga is the
Goddess of the universe and being the personification of the material
energy, Durga is also the maidservant of Lord Krishna, and conducts
herself in accordance to the will of the Supreme.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Worship
of the Goddess goes back at least 4,000 years in India, and further
back to the Vedic times. Durga is the Goddess of the universe, and
Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva, is a form of Durga. She has up to 64
different forms, with different names for each form. Each form
represents a different pastime, power, or aspect of the Goddess. Some of
the names of these forms of Durga are Ambika, Bhadra, Bhadrakali,
Aryadurga, Vedagarbha, Kshemakshemakari, Naikabahu, Bhagavati,
Katyayani, and others, such as Sati, which means chastity. In her
gentle aspects she is worshiped as Kanya, Kamakshi, or Mukamba. Uma
(Parvati) is the maiden name for the consort of Lord Shiva. She
represents matter (prakriti). ... Durga is the personification of the
material energy, in which all materially conditioned living beings are
absorbed in thoughts, actions and identity. ... She is also the
personification of wisdom and knowledge. Her energy permeates the
universe.